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eSports Still A Very Big Boy's Club

While more and more females are playing video games, competitive gaming remains one big sausage-fest.

According to a survey conducted by eSports production company WellPlayed and summarized at DailyDot, the eSports fan base is still over 90 percent male.

WellPlayed conducted the survey during three tournaments (two with League of Legends and one with Starcraft 2) over the course of 2013, and 2,040 participants were male, while only 69 were female, and 33 identified themselves as "Other." There still appears to be plenty of bias and even outright hostility towards women who want to get involved. As an example, the first female Starcraft 2 player, Kim "Eve" Shee-Yoon, was supposedly chosen for her ability and her "looks," according to the team's manager.

This all being said, it still proves that the idea that half of the gaming populace is female is bogus. At least in regards to the core gaming community, and those are the only individuals who will be involved in eSports. Of course, that doesn't excuse certain people for certain appalling behavior.

Comments (10 posts)

Isn't there a fairly noticeable gender gap for normal sports too? At least it's always looked that way to me. Of course, there's probably a lot more girls into sports than there are girls into hardcore gaming, but gaming is extremely young by comparison.

Why is it than whenever an activity is more popular with one gender than another, it's a problem? I mean I go into Bath And Body Works and it's almost entirely women in there. This is a nationwide problem and something must be done about it!!!

I can't understand why we're trying so desperately to prove there are no differences between men and women, when it's obviously absurd to say there isn't.

Nobody is saying men can't be into knitting and gardening, and nobody is saying women can't be into action movies and shooting games. But obviously, some activities will always cater more toward males and vice versa, and I have NO problem with that. So what?

If I walk into a Bath and Body Works, I know it's 90% female (and of the 10% male, at least 5% are looking for something for their wives/girlfriends). And I'm not going, "gee, more men should be in here." Just ridiculous.Last edited by Ben Dutka PSXE on 3/8/2014 4:04:56 PM

I don't think anyone dispute that there's differences between the sexes.

I think it's more a question of appreciating the value of having a balance. At least in my profession there is a wish for more females in this business. Not cause we imagine there's no difference of the sexes (or if that has anything to do with it at all), but simply cause it would be of great value for several reasons, both socially and professionally, if there were more females.I think that's the clue here.Last edited by Beamboom on 3/9/2014 2:36:57 PM

People are different in more ways than just gender. That diversity makes us collectively stronger. People should participate in ways that highlight their individual strengths.

I don't ever want equal numbers in absolutely everything for the sake of equal numbers. If people are using their greatest skills, then great. If they're present only because of the "they're the same" mantra, then gtfo.

Since we all garner our peak enjoyment from tasks we are skilled at as well as have invested interest in, I see no problem with this.

At the end of the day, barring a small exception ratio, men are better at some things, and women are better at others. Again, I said barring small exceptions. But these exceptions will never be strong enough to have everyone evenly distributed. Forcing it is setting people up for failure, and in my opinion, wastes their time and full value. If someone finds that offensive, then oh well. Forcing someone to come face to face with that realization is doing them a favour.

And really... what's kinder? Telling people they're all the same (a lie that takes them from finding their REAL calling and happiness), or being kindly frank and honest in hopes they pursue something they both excel at and enjoy.Last edited by Underdog15 on 3/10/2014 12:44:23 AM